Dalit girl gang-rape: Father kills self; one held

In a protest lasting weeks, irate villagers did not allow the post-mortem of the victim's labourer father, who consumed poison over the incident.

Prolonged protests by irate residents of Dabra village lasting nearly a week have finally pushed the Hisar police into arresting one of the suspected 11 persons involved in the gang-rape case of a teenaged Dalit girl earlier on September 8. The girl's father committed suicide over the incident on September 18.

Confirming the arrest, Hisar police chief B Satheesh Balan said on Monday that the accused, who was arrested on Saturday, has revealed names of the 11 others involved in the abduction-cum-gang-rape case and that “they will be arrested soon”.

The incident sparked much furore after the aggressors not only abducted the Class XII student while she was on her way to meet her maternal uncle in Patel Nagar area of the district and raped her, but also shot MMS clips of their dastardly act and threatened to go public with them.

On Saturday, too, the villagers staged a protest demanding immediate arrest of the accused and dispersed only after assurances by Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar Aggarwal and SP Balan. It was only then the protesters allowed the body of victim's father Krishan, who had committed suicide over the incident, to be taken for post-mortem. He was later cremated at his native village on Monday.

The girl narrated the September 8 incident to her mother, who in turn informed her husband Krishan, a labourer, about it. Krishan raised the issue with the village elders, who began questioning the boys allegedly involved in the incident. However, the accused allegedly began threatening the family that they would make the girl's objectionable pictures public if the matter was reported to the police. Apprehending public humiliation, Krishan allegedly consumed poison on September 18 and died.

Monday saw the Dalit panchayat calling on Balan, who has now directed the SHO of Sadar police station to book and arrest the accused. A case has been registered against the accused under sections 376 and 306 of IPC (rape and abatement to suicide).